


Santa Mind

by KatjaWilde



Category: Megamind (2010)
Genre: AU, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Magic, Dialogue, F/M, Family, Fatherhood, Fluff, Gen, Parenthood, Pre-Movie, Pre-Movie(s), Pre-movie AU, Santa replacement, being santa, surprise, taking over as santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-09 13:59:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8893333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatjaWilde/pseuds/KatjaWilde
Summary: Santa gets injured picking up gifts from Megamind's evil lair. Megamind now has to deliver all the presents with his adoptive daughter Lucy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not quite sure what's going on. Lucy was supposed to be the daughter of one of Megamind's prison uncles but she would rather be his adoptive daugter. Oh well, I hope you enjoy this Christmas story. It has a mind of its own it seems.

”Lucy, get back here,” Minion shouted through the lair. The 6-year old child giggled before she darted into the workshop, where Megamind was working on his newest invention.  
“Dad, look what I can do,” the girl shouted.  
“What Lucy?” he asked, slightly annoyed. “And where’s Minion?”  
“Minnie is chasing me,” she said. “But look.”  
And with that the brown-haired girl did a backwards flip in the middle of the room. Megamind clapped enthusiastically. “That was very impressive Lucy,” he said, laughing. “But really, you shouldn’t do it in here. It could be dangerous. Brainbots,” he shouted.  
“Bowg.” One of the brainbots swooshed down to its Master.  
“Get us some hot chocolate. And some cookies. And go find Minion.”  
Three brainbots darted out of the workshop into the rest of the lair to do is their Master had commanded.  
“Yay,” Lucy said, jumping up and down. “Does this mean I can help you with your work?”  
“Well, I certainly can’t have you running around in here and it looks like you’re not going to go to bed just yet, am I right?”  
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “Can I make a toy?”  
“I thought you wanted to help me with my evil invention,” Megamind exclaimed and put a hand on his heart, feigning hurt. “And all you want to do is come in here to your own selfish gain?”  
“No, don’t be silly. I want to make a new doll for Molly.”  
“And who’s Molly?”  
“She’s this girl in my class. Ben ripped the head of her favorite doll last week.”  
“Hmm,” Megamind said. “Well, then we have no other choice than to make this Molly a new doll. With spikes that will make sure that this Ben never touches it again.”  
“What are the spikes going to do to him?” Lucy asked, eyes slightly wide.  
“I don’t know,” Megamind said, picking up the child and putting her on his lap. “What do you think they should do?”  
“Hmm,” the girl sat, stroking her cheek like she had seen Megamind doing when he was thinking. “Make him pee in his pants?”  
Megamind gaved a loud snort that turned to an amused chuckle. “What a delightfully evil idea, princess, but I think that may be a little to mean for a child’s toy don’t you think?”  
“Maybe,” she admitted and reached out for the mug of hot chocolate one of the brainbots had returned with. “Dad, they forgot the marshmallows.”  
“Oh, so they did, Luce. Do you want to send for them?”  
“Okay.” She cleared her throat. “Bobby, if you get my marshmallows we can play fetch tomorrow.”  
The brainbot didn’t even have time to bowg as it zipped out of the room with such a speed that it caused several papers to flutter.  
“Very well, but remember to play with him tomorrow. You know we don’t break promises in Evil Lair.”  
“I know. Hi Minion.”  
Minion had just walked into the room, carrying a tray with freshly baked Christmas cookies.  
“Hi Lucy, you two do know it’s bed time, right?”  
“Nooo, not yet Minion. We need to finish a gift for my friend Molly before Santa arrives so he can bring it to her.”  
Minion glanced at the disguise watch on his arm. “Well, then the two of you better hurry, he’ll be here to collect the presents in less than an hour. But it’s straight to bed when you’ve sent him off with this year’s toys, okay?”  
“Yes, Minion.” Lucy pouted a little, then perked up as an idea striked her. “Maybe the spikes can make him say silly things? But only for a short while.”  
“Much better, just slightly evil but not enough to be mean. Good job.”  
At that moment the brainbot returned with the marshmallows. “Good job Bobby. Now I need the extra blueprints for the dolls. No need to ruin the design we’re using for all the other dolls. And Pinkie I need materials for one doll. Minion, would you mind getting some spikes for us? We have an evil doll to build.”


	2. 2

Half an hour later the supervillain and the child had finished building the doll and were now drinking their second cup of hot chocolate. Lucy yawned and Megamind patted the top of her head.  
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to bed? I mean, tomorrow is Christmas morning after all?”  
“I’m sure. Besides I’m already in my PJ’s. I’ll go to bed when I’ve said goodbye to Santa. Unless you think he’ll let me come with him this year?” She hugged the villain, hoping to persuade him that way. Usually her hugs got her what she wanted but this time her smile turned to a small pout when the villain didn’t fall for the trick.  
“Probably not. Besides then you won’t have any energy to open up all of your presents.”  
“Okay. Can you tell me a story then?”  
“Sure, what about? About a dragon maybe? Or an evil giant spider robot?”  
“About when you and Minion found me.”  
“Oh,” Megamind said softly, reaching out for a cookie and biting into it. “You do love that story quite a lot. Well,” he said, spinning around in the high chair, which caused the girl to giggle, “it was a dark night. Minion and I were walking home after being defeated by Metro Mahn yet again. And as we reached Evil Lair there was a basket by the secret entrance. With even back then Minion had marked. I guess it really shouldn’t surprise us that people knew where we lived. But anyways we picked up the basket and in the basket there was a little baby girl with brown curly hair and green yes.”  
“That was me,” Lucy interrupted, hugging the villain tighter.  
“Yes, that was you. So we took you in. You had a note attached saying: “Megamind. Please take care of my daughter. Her name is Lucy.”  
“Why didn’t my mom want me?”  
“I don’t know Luce. Maybe she didn’t have the money. What really baffles me is why she would leave you with Minion and I.”  
“Because you are the best dad ever,” she replied, taking a sip of hot chocolate.  
“I’m evil,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows and tickling the child. The elicited a scream of laughter from said child which in turn caused the villain to laugh as well.  
“But you’re nice too,” she said when he stopped tickling her.  
“How’d you figure that?”  
“Well, Molly’s mom said that you helped her when Molly’s dad was being mean to her. And James say that they almost got kicked out of their apartment but then they got to stay and his mom told him it was because you had bought the building. You take care of people in Metrocity.”  
“You’re a smart kid, you know that?” Megamind said, ruffling her hair.  
“Yes, you tell me that all the time.” She giggled.  
“And I mean it.”  
“Ho ho ho, you are right Lucy. Megamind here is truly a nice man. You know, some of the time.”  
“Santa.” Lucy jumped down from Megamind’s lap and ran to the man in the red suit.  
“Hello Lucy, have you been a good girl this year?” Santa asked, picking up the child to receive a hug.  
“Of course,” she said. “You know, most of the time. But I did kick Ben. And that was only because he was mean to Molly.”  
“Well,” Santa laughed, “I do appreciate honesty.”  
Megamind got up from the chair as well and went to shake hands with the old man.  
“Good to see you, Megamind.”  
“Good to see you too, Santa. We made all the toys you requested. And a few extras to some of the orphanages.”  
Santa crooked a white eyebrow. “Like every year. Well, I’m glad. I’ll just go put them into my sack. Oh, what’s this?” he asked, pointing at the neatly wrapped present on the workbench.  
“That’s a doll we just made for my friend Molly. Ben broke her other one. So we made her a new one. Would you give it to her?”  
“Of course Lucy, I’ll just go get the other ones first.”  
“You know the way,” Megamind said and whistled for a brainbot. “Pinkie, go get some more hot chocolate. I assume you’ll want a cup before you’re on your merry way?”  
“Yes, please. Minion’s hot chocolate is the best. But don’t tell my elves I said that.” Santa winked at Lucy who giggled and made a “lips sealed” motion.  
“Ho ho ho,” Santa laughed, making his way to the stockroom in the back of the Lair.  
“Well, since it’s Christmas may I have this dance?” Megamind asked.  
“There’s no music.”  
“There isn’t?” Megamind asked with his eyebrow raised and pushed a bottom on the nearby control panel.  
“Santa Claus is coming to town” started flowing out of the speakers and Megamind bowed, offering Lucy his hand. She took it and went to stand on his feet. The danced around like that, Megamind taking gigantic exaggerated steps that almost made the two of the fall over. They were in the middle of the spin when they heard a loud crash coming from somewhere else in the lair.  
“OUCH! That was NOT jolly,” Santa’s voice echoed through the lair.  
“Brainbots, go find Santa.” Megamind picked Lucy up on his arm and followed the brainbots to Santa Claus. Just as the reached him Minion came from another part of the lair.  
“I heard the crash, Sir, what happened?” he asked, looking worringly at Santa who lay sprawled on the floor.  
“Nothing Minion I just slipped and fell.” Santa made a motion to get up, then groaned in pain. “It looks like I’ve hurt my back.”  
“Brainbots, help him to the master bedroom. Careful,” Megamind barked at the snapping brainbots. They obeyed their master and carried the injured Santa to the supervillain's bedroom.  
“Minion, you better examine him. Lucy and I will go get some ice and a heat packet, in case you need them. Come Luce.” With that the pair of them disappeared into the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

20 minutes later found them in a dreary situation.  
“But I have to deliver the presents,” Santa argued, trying to get out of bed. Minion gently pushed him back.  
“That’s not going to happen, Santa Sir,” he said firmly. “Your back is hurt to much. You’ll need a couple of days of bedrest.”   
“We can do it,” Lucy exclaimed.  
“Lucy, I thought you were sleeping,” Megamind scolded fondly. She was a curious one, this one. He could never be mad at her for being curious. After all, he wouldn’t have gone to bed either had he been her.  
“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Santa said, stroking his beard. “Well, Megamind, what do you say? Can you deliver the presents for me?”  
Megamind stood there wide eyed gaping at Santa.  
“Me? You want me, Metrocity’s supervillain to deliver presents? In people’s houses?”   
“Well, you can’t leave them outside.”   
“But…” Megamind started but was interrupted.  
“Please, please, please,” Lucy was looking at him with her big green eyes and tugging at his sleeve. She gave him the look that always ended up with him giving in.  
“Fine,” Megamind sulked. “Minion, you stay here and take care of Santa and Lucy. I’ll go deliver the presents.” He gulped. Him, being Santa Claus? He was sure that he would fail.  
“But I want to come with you,” Lucy pouted.   
“Absolutely not,” Megamind said. “It could be dangerous.   
“Actually Megamind, you’ll need a helper. Someone needs to stay with the reindeer or they’ll just return to me.”  
“Can’t I take the hover bike?” Megamind asked hopefully, not really comfortable at the thought of riding a magical sleigh.  
Santa shook his head no. “The magic in the sleigh is the only thing making me able to deliver the presents all in one night.”  
“Fine,” Megamind grumbled, then looked at Lucy. “Go get dressed then. And you’re wearing two sweaters and your snowsuit. And two hats. And two pair of gloves. And two pair of socks.”  
Santa laughed from the bed. “Megamind, really it’s not nessecary with all that clothes. The magic of the sleigh keeps it warm enough. One pair of each should be more than enough. Besides, I have a lot of cozy blankets up there. Oh, by the way, do you still have the suit I gave you when you first started making presents for me?”  
“Yes?” he asked.  
“Great, put it on. It’s got some of the Santa magic in it as well.”  
Megamind stared at Santa Claus incredulously. He laughed again, a heartwarming sound.  
“I was planning on letting you follow into my footsteps sooner or later. I guess we’ll call this a test run. Though I wasn’t planning on it to happen quite this way.”  
Minion chose that moment to speak.  
“I’ll go make you some hot chocolate and find some cookies for you two to bring along. And make sure that Lucy is in fact waring a sweater. And I’ll pack her sketchbooks and colors as well, to keep her occupied so she doesn’t leave the sleigh.”   
And with that he hurried from the room, leaving Megamind and Santa alone.  
“What?” Megamind said, apparently still stuck on the fact that Santa wanted him to take over at some point.  
Santa sighed. “Megamind, you are not a bad person. In fact, you have a heart of gold. Even though you don’t act like it.”  
Megamind opened his mouth to protest, but Santa held up a hand to silence him.  
“Just… help me out tonight and see if it’s something you enjoy. If you don’t like it you don’t have to take over. Besides, I’m not planning on retiring for a couple of more years. Plenty of time to think about it, okay?”  
Megamind opted not to say anything. He still couldn’t believe it. He went to the closet and got changed into the suit he got from Santa so many years ago. It consisted of black boots, the traditional santa suit and a santa har large enough to fit onto his big head. He opted to keep on his own spiky, black leather gloves instead of the furry ones that came with the suit. Furry gloves weren’t really his thing.  
“I’m ready, Dad,” Lucy said coming into the room. She was wearing her pink snowsuit and bunny finger gloves. On top of her head was a santa hat and under her arm she carried the gift for Molly.  
“Princess, you’ll need a warmer hat,” Megamind said. “Your santa hat is really not that warm.  
Lucy lifted the hat up a bit to reveal a woolen hat underneath the santa hat.  
Megamind laughed. “Good girl, now where’s Minion?”  
“Right here, Sir.” The cheery fish walked into the room carrying a basket. “I put some candy in there as well since you both have quite the sweet tooth. And some carrots for the reindeer.”  
“Well, then I guess we’re all set.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be totally honest with you. I have no idea what I'm doing. This fic just have it's own life.  
> Also, I'm sorry for the "long" chapter(you know, compared to the rest) - but there's a lot of dialogue with a nice flow. There just didn't seem to be a good place to cut it in half.  
> Hope you enjoy. Not a lot of action, but lots of talking.

After a quick lesson from Santa regarding how to control the sleigh and deliver the gifts Megamind and Lucy went on their merry way. The reindeer knew the route and which houses to stop at, so all Megamind had to do was climb down the chimney and leave the presents. Easy.  
They stopped by the first house.  
“Can I come too, Dad?” Lucy asked, already eating a lollipop.  
He ruffled her hair. “No, you have to stay to make sure the reindeer doesn’t leave me here.”  
He then took hold of the sack, whistled once and the sack flew him down into the house. Once inside, he opened it to retrieve the gifts. This part was easy as well. The sack knew which gifts belonged in which house so all he had to do was reach inside and he would retrieve the right once. He placed the beautifully wrapped presents underneath the Christmas tree, took a couple of cookies and drank some of the milk. It would be rude not to since people left it out for Santa.  
They went through the first several houses with only a couple of incidences including a barking dog biting him and Megamind knocking over a lamp with the sack.  
“Dad, wait a second. Look at my drawing.” Lucy showed the sketchbook to Megamind who took it into his hand so he could study it.  
“That’s very nice, Lucy.” He squinted at it. “Is that me being bitten by a dog?”  
“And knocking over the Christmas tree.” The child nodded seriously.  
“I have not knocked over a Christmas tree,” he declared indigently.  
“Not yet.”  
“Cheeky, little…” he mumbled, getting out of the sleigh.  
Once inside this house he noticed something different from the other houses. On the couch lay a person. Great. He had to be extra careful to be quiet. He tiptoed over to the tree. Unfortunately it would seem that Lucy had some sort of physic power because he tripped over toy truck and stumbled into the Christmas tree, sending it to the floor with a crash. The crash was loud enough to wake up the person on the couch, but not loud enough to wake up the rest of the household.  
The person on the couch started up and turned on a lamp on the nearby table. Slowly Megamind turned around, wishing he had brought knock out spray. He found himself standing face to face with a blinking Roxanne Ritchi.  
“Megamind,” she said confused. “Are you here to kidnap me or steal the Christmas presents? And why are you dressed like Santa Claus?”  
She tried very hard not to laugh at his outfit. But it was very hard. Being used to his black leather, the red suit seemed completely wrong. And she thought he looked hilarious.  
“Because I’m substituting for him,” he tried, knowing she wouldn’t believe him.  
Roxanne started laughing. “Yeah, right.”  
Megamind pouted. “Ms. Ritchi, what are you doing on the couch?” he asked, while he tried to pick the tree back up. Roxanne got up from the couch to help him. She was wearing a green pair of PJ’s with small candy canes on them.  
“Well, my nephew wouldn’t go to bed. He wanted to wait for Santa Claus. So I promised to sleep in the living room and come wake him up if I saw Santa.”  
“Well, then you better wake him,” Megamind said, nodding at the tree which now stood tall once more.  
Roxanne snorted. “Really? You’re going with this? Just tell me what elaborate Christmas scheme you’ve got going on this year.”  
Megamind rolled his eyes and reached into the sack to retrieve the presents.  
“Ms. Ritchi, I don’t do plans on Christmas, surely you’ve noticed that.”  
“You used to,” she pointed out.  
Megamind was about to tell her that that was before Lucy. Now he couldn’t dream of ruining Christmas for her by being sent off to prison. But he didn’t feel like revealing the fact that he had child living with him at Evil Lair. Somehow he doubted she would approve.  
“You’ll just have to trust me on this one. I’m not here to kidnap you or ruin anyone’s Christmas.”  
Roxanne just stared at him for a couple of seconds, watching him putting the presents underneath the tree.  
“What are you doing?”  
“Like I told you, I’m here to deliver the gifts from Santa. He had an accident.” Megamind cringed.  
He felt guilty about Santa’s injury even though logically he knew it wasn’t his fault. He was ripped out of his musing by Roxanne poking his side.  
“Are you listening spaceman? I don’t believe you.”  
“Well,” he snapped. “What do you want me to do? Show you the reindeer.”  
As soon as he had said that he regretted it immediately. Lucy was in the sleigh. Taking Roxanne to see the reindeer would mean she would see Lucy. And then Lucy would be taken to an orphanage.  
“Yes, I would.” Roxanne said and went to the hallway. She emerged a few seconds later now wearing a jacket and a pair of boots.  
“You know what Ms. Ritchi,” he stammered. “You were right. I came to kidnap you. But since you’re awake there’s no point now.” He backed towards the fireplace, whistling to make the sack take him up the chimney. Roxanne grabbed his arm, just as he started flying and soon found herself on the roof, still holding on to the villains sleeve.  
“What on earth?” she said, blinking at the reindeer in surprise.  
“Well, now you’ve seen the reindeer, I’ll take you…” he said nervously, desperate to get her away from the sleigh.  
The reporter stepped towards the reindeer but came to a stop once she caught sight of the child sitting in the sleigh.  
“You kidnapped a CHILD?” she shrieked.  
“I did not,” Megamind said offended.  
“Well, there’s sitting a child in the sleigh right there.”  
“I did not kidnap her, Ms. Ritchi,” Megamind almost shouted.  
“Oh, she came on her own accord, did she?” Roxanne shouted back at him.  
“Yes, I did,” the child replied, looking between the supervillain and the reporter. “Do you want to borrow my hat Ms. Ritchi? Your ears are red.”  
“What is going on, Megamind?” Roxanne demanded, rushing over to the child.  
“Dad, is Ms. Ritchi coming with us?” Lucy asking just as Roxanne reached for her hand to get her out of the sleigh.  
“Dad?” Roxanne turned slowly to face Megamind whose face now had a lavender blush.  
“No, Luce, Ms. Ritchi was just on her way downstairs again,” he tried, coughing at the end.  
“I’m not going anywhere without an explanation.” Roxanne stared at him, arms crossed.  
“Then get in the sleigh,” he said, resigned. “We have a lot more houses to go tonight.”  
Roxanne stood there for a couple of seconds, contemplating whether or not she should get into the sleigh. But one look at the child and she decided that she could not leave the innocent girl alone. She knew Megamind wasn’t dangerous but still.  
She climbed into the sleigh. Megamind sighed and pinched his nose, climbing in after her.  
They took to the air and Roxanne stated:  
“You better start explaining. And it better be damn good.”  
“Dad, can I have a cookie?” the child interrupted.  
“Sure, honey. Can you reach them?”  
“Yes. Would you like one Ms. Ritchi?”  
Roxanne nodded and accepted the Christmas tree formed cookie from the child. It was decorated with green and red frosting, obviously decorated by a child judging by the excessive amount of frosting and sprinkles. She also handed one to Megamind.  
“Why, thank you, milady,” he gave a polite nod with his head. The girl giggled, then told Roxanne:  
“I made them myself. With Minion’s help of course.”  
“Well, they are really pretty, but I would like to know what’s going on now.”  
Megamind gulped as they landed on a roof top. “I’ll just be a minute,” he said out of the sleigh.  
“Do you want to see my drawing?” the girl asked, showing Roxanne the picture of Megamind knocking over a Christmas tree.  
Roxanne chuckled. “That’s a nice picture.” She was about to ask the child a question when Megamind reappeared.  
Once again settled in the sleigh, he took in a deep breath. “Well, I better start from the beginning.”  
Roxanne just glared at him, waiting for him to continue.  
“Well, this is Lucy. My daughter,” he offered. “Adopted daughter. Minion and I found her when she was a baby. We took her in.”  
Roxanne took a deep breath, willing herself to stay calm. “You just kept her? When you find a child you’re supposed to give it to someone who knows what they’re doing.”  
“My mom knew what she was doing,” Lucy said, glaring at Roxanne with a fiery expression one would not expect from such a small child.  
“The note said: Megamind. Please take care of my daughter. Her name is Lucy.” Lucy reached for a medallion hangning around the neck. She opened it. Inside lay a piece of paper which she folded out and handed to Roxanne.  
Roxanne studied the paper while Megamind went into the next house. The note did indeed read what the child had said. And it was neither Megamind nor Minion’s handwriting. She had seen enough blueprints in the lair over the years to be able to recognize their handwriting.  
Megamind jumped back into the sleigh just as Roxanne gave the note back to Lucy, satisfied that it was neither villain’s handwriting. That didn’t mean that they didn’t get someone else to write the note though.  
“I’m still confused,” Roxanne admitted, looking at the villain out of the corner of her eye. “Why not give the child to child services?” She had decided to believe his story, for now anyway.  
“To be honest, Ms. Ritchi,” Megamind sighed, first looking at her then smiling fondly at the child, “I have no idea.”  
Huh. That was new, Roxanne thought. She never thought she would live to see the day, Megamind admitted to not knowing something.  
“I know why,” Lucy declared.  
“You do?” Roxanne asked, looking at the child.  
“Yes. They kept me because an orphanage is like a prison and it’s not nice growing up in prison.”  
“Children don’t grow up in prisons,” Roxanne said.  
“Dad did,” Lucy said, turning the page and putting the pen to it.  
Lucy looked at Megamind who coughed loudly. “You grew up in prison?”  
“Yes, Ms. Ritchi, I did. My pod landed there. I’m actually glad I grew up in a prison. It was better than the alternative anyway.”  
“The alternative being an orphanage?” Roxanne asked, eyebrow raised.  
Megamind raised his eyebrow at her as well. “Ms. Ritchi, in case it has escaped your notice, I’m an alien. I am confident an orphanage is the last place your government would have placed me.” He shrugged.  
“I was lucky really,” he continued. “I could have ended up in a lab. My childhood wasn’t bad. I had my prison uncles to take care of me and once I got out of shool and away from Metro Mahn life really got quite good.”  
Roxanne had many questions about that last sentence but decided that his past history with the city’s hero had to wait for another day. She had more pressing matters to give her attention to.  
“But an orphanage isn’t like a prison,” she stated.  
“How do you know? Have you ever been in one? Trust me, Ms. Ritchi, I did my research. In the end Minion and I agreed that Lucy would be better off with us. And we actually asked Santa as well and he agreed.”  
Roxanne snorted.  
“You really expect me to believe that?”  
“Well, you can come back to Evil Lair and ask him yourself. Minion is nursing his hurt back.”  
“And please tell me how you managed to lure Santa to your lair where he got injured.”  
“He was there to pick up the toys,” Lucy said, not looking up from the sketch.  
“To pick up the toys?” Roxanne repeated, then looked at Megamind who was now blushing. And then he leaped out of the sleigh and down the chimney.  
“Unbelievable,” Roxanne mumbled.  
“What do you mean, Ms. Ritchi?” Lucy asked, glancing at her. On the paper a sketch of something was taking form. She had not changed the color with Roxanne found weird. When her 7-year old nephew drew he used all the colors he could think of.  
“Don’t you think you should use some more colors?” she asked the child, avoiding the question. She didn’t want to say any of the swear words she was thinking out loud in front of a child.  
“Don’t be silly. You only use one color for blueprints.” She tapped the pencil to her cheek. “Maybe two, three at most if it a really complicated invention. You know, color coding. But this is quite simple.”  
“A blueprint?”  
“Yes, I’m not allowed to build things quite by myself yet, but Dad helps me all the time with my inventions.”  
“He does?”  
“Yes, I have my own work station at the workshop back home.”  
“So what are you designing?” Roxanne asked, genuinely curious.  
“A new kind of battery for the brainbots,” she answered simply. “Right now they need to recharge once a week. We’re hoping to make it once a month or not at all preferably. I mean, we have plenty of them so it’s not like we’re ever short on them but an eternal battery would be nice, don’t you think Ms. Ritchi?”  
The child sounded so serious, Roxanne found it hard to bite back her laughter. The child surely had a good imagination. She couldn’t imagine a child able to design such a complicated thing.  
“It would be very nice,” Roxanne agreed just as Megamind reappeared.  
“Dad,” Lucy said as soon Megamind had climbed back into the sleigh, “when we stop the next time can I feed the reindeer some carrots? I mean, as long Ms. Ritchi stays in the sleigh they’re not going to run of right?”  
Megamind chuckled and patted her head. “Darling, as long as there are carrots I doubt the reindeer would go anywhere, with or without Ms. Ritchi in the sleigh. So of course you can feed them. But please be careful – we don’t want them to kick you.”  
“Don’t worry they won’t? Isn’t that right, Comet?” she said. The reindeer in question nodded its head. It wasn’t the first time she met the reindeer since Santa was a regular guest at Evil Lair and just not at Christmas time.  
“You said Santa was there to pick up toys,” Roxanne said, remembering where he had left their conversation. “I find that hard to believe.”  
“It’s true, Ms. Ritchi. Dad and Minion and I make some of the toys for Santa. We made this today for my friend Molly.” Lucy showed the gift to Roxanne. Then the child’s eyes suddenly widened in worry. “Dad, we didn’t already pass Molly’s house, did we?”  
“I don’t know, darling, to be honest. I’m no Santa. I’m sure Santa would know which child lives where.”  
Tears sprang to the child’s eyes and when Megamind saw this he put and arm around her in a sideways hug. “I’ll tell you what. On our way home will drop by your friend’s house, okay? I’ll call Minion at our next stop, make him look up the address and then will put it in the holowatch’s GPS right?” He dried her tear away while she nodded. “Can I go down the chimney then?”  
Megamind glanced at Roxanne. “That depends on how long Ms. Ritchi plans on staying with us. You know we can’t leave the reindeer alone.”  
“There is no way I’m leaving you as long as you have a child with you Megamind,” Roxanne stated dryly.  
“Great, then yes, princess, you can help deliver the gift to Molly. She’s the redhaired one right, the one with the glasses?”  
“Yes, she showed me her new puppy last time I was at her house. It’s so cute.” There was no pleading tone in her voice.  
“You don’t want a puppy?” Roxanne asked the child. All the children she had ever met always begged for a puppy as soon as the conversation brought said animal up.  
“I have the brainbots,” she shrugged. “Besides I’m getting a kitten for Christmas, right Dad?”  
Megamind’s eyes widened but he coughed to try to cover up his surprise. “Why do you think that?” he managed to ask.  
“Because you asked me last week if I wanted a pet. And I said I wanted a kitten. And then you asked what color and I told you it didn’t matter. And then I saw Minion buying cat food.”  
“You clever girl,” Megamind said, smiling at the girl. “But do not tell Minion you know. He’ll be devastated.”  
“Okay,” she agreed, going back to her drawing.  
“Back on track Megamind,” Roxanne reminded him. “Santa, toys – remember?” She raised her eyebrow at him.  
Megamind gave an exaggerated sigh. “Ms. Ritchi, we both know that no matter what I tell you on that matter, you will not believe me. And since you’re apparently coming home with us, I suggest you ask the man himself.”  
They had landed on the next rooftop and Megamind jumped out of the sleigh. “Your Majesty, if I may,” he said, bowing deeply and reaching out his hand for Lucy to take. She grabbed a bag of carrots from the basket and took it, then jumped out of the sleigh.  
“Okay, you stay away from the edge and please be careful when feeding the reindeer. If they hurt you, we will be eating reindeer steak.” He sent a glare at the nearest reindeer which in return blew out air through its nose in an offended matter.  
“We don’t eat meat, Dad. Besides they won’t hurt me.”  
“Good.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead, then looked at Roxanne. “I trust you to keep an eye on her.”  
Before Roxanne had time to answer, he was gone down the chimney which had magically appeared on top of the apartment building.  
“What’s your name?” Roxanne asked, watching the girl feeding the reindeer and cuddling them after turn.  
“Why? Are you going to tell on us?”  
“No,” she said. She was tempted to cross her fingers. The child looked up from the reindeer she was feeding, then shook her head.  
“You can’t promise that. Not yet anyway.”  
“What makes you say that?” The child was right of course. Until she knew for certain what exactly was going on she could not promise not to tell anyone about them.  
“You don’t trust my dad. You should. He trusts you.”  
Roxanne would have said something but the child continued.  
“So I’ll trust you too. My name is Lucy.”  
“I knew that,” Roxanne replied after a couple of seconds of waiting. “I meant your full name. Don’t you go to school?”  
Lucy nodded, feeding another carrot to one of the reindeer.  
“Then you must have a surname. When you register for school you have a full name. So what’s your full name?”  
“Lucy Mira Ritchi.”  
Roxanne’s eyes opened wide in surprise and her breath caught. He named the child after her?  
“That’s a nice name,” she said lamely. She could think of nothing else to say. She had a million questions but she didn’t think it right to ask the child these questions.  
“Lucy is what my mom called me. It means light. Minion said it was because I am a light in a dark world. Dad says it’s because my eyes shine when I laugh. And Mira means wonderful. Dad gave me that name. And Ritchi is after you. Dad says you’re the second smartest person he knows.”  
Roxanne wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. She was honored really. Megamind was without a doubt the smartest person on the planet. She smirked at Megamind who had appeared during the conversation.  
“I wonder who the smartest person he knows is,” she said teasingly.  
“Me,” said the child, then heard the footsteps behind her. She turned around and Megamind picked her up to place her back in the sleigh.  
“That’s right. You are the smartest person I know.” He kissed her cheek.  
“I know that. You say it all the time.”  
“That’s because being smart is a good thing.”  
“Oh, that’s right,” Lucy said, showing her drawing to the supervillain next to her. “I designed a new battery for the brainbots.”  
Megamind took the drawing from the child’s hand and studied it for a while. He looked like he was making some calculations in his head.  
“Does that say 1 or 7?” he asked Lucy, pointing on the paper. Roxanne hadn’t noticed until just then but there were equations dotting the paper all over.  
“7, and it continues on the next page.”  
Megamind flipped the page over and read it. Then he broke into a huge smile.  
“It looks great. I’m not sure about your choice of materials though. Maybe we should look it over in the morning, see what we got and what we’ll need?” Roxanne recognized this as Megamind’s science mode. He was lightly tapping his chin in rapid succession.  
Lucy took the sketchbook back.  
“Okay, I’ll try and do some calculations with some other materials,” she said in a serious tone, making Roxanne smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Several hours later and they were still sitting in the sleigh. Roxanne was amazed that it wasn’t morning yet. She looked up at the sky. There were no clouds and the stars were shining brightly. Next to her Lucy had fallen asleep, her head on Roxanne’s arm. Megamind had draped a blanket over her, tugging her in to make sure she stayed warm.   
“It’s beautiful out here,” she said, looking at the stars.  
“It’s nice I suppose,” he replied, looking straight ahead.  
“You don’t like stars?” Roxanne was surprised. She would have thought he loved space.  
“It’s not that.” He let out a breath of air. “It’s just yet another reminder of what I have lost.”  
Neither one said anything. After a short while Megamind continued.   
“I suppose when you lose your family you tend to stay away from the things that remind you of them. My planet was swallowed by a black hole. Only one to escape. Isn’t that just great?” he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.  
“It is,” Roxanne said. “Just ask Lucy.”  
Megamind looked at her in surprise. Then a fond smile spread over his lips. “I suppose you’re right. As you often are.” He looked up at the stars.   
At that moment they landed on yet another rooftop and Megamind disappeared with the sack of gifts. Roxanne just sat there, still looking at the night sky. She only noticed that Megamind had returned as the sleigh took off again. That was not quite true if she was honest with herself. She always noticed Megamind’s presence, always felt if he was near.  
“It was nice of you to play along,” she said to him, thinking of the way he had pretended that Lucy’s drawing could make life easier for the brainbots.  
Megamind shot her a confused glance, eyebrows drawn together.  
“You know, Lucy’s “battery”,” she said, unsure.  
Megamind laughed. “You think it’s just pretend? I mean it when I say she’s the smartest person I know. She knows about science and she knows about people. That battery is not just a game of pretend – we are going to build it. Might take a couple of days though – I don’t think we have all the parts at Evil Lair.”  
Roxanne wanted to say something but didn’t know what. Luckily Megamind filled what would have become an awkward silence.  
“Why haven’t you called for Metro Mahn yet?”   
Nope. This was awkward as well, Roxanne thought. But not yet. It would be soon though. She always felt awkward at the mentioning of Wayne. Mainly because everyone thought they were dating but still.  
“Why would I have called for Wayne? I never call for him. Either you call him or he just drops by through the ceiling,” she said, tone a little colder than she intended.  
“You thought I kidnapped a child. Surely that should have been enough for you to call out for your boyfriend in tights. I know you’re no “damsel in distress” as you put it but surely a child’s safety would be more important than your sense of pride.”  
Roxanne bit her lips. He was right about that. So why hadn’t she called out for Wayne? The thought simply hadn’t occurred to her – it never did. She knew Megamind wasn’t dangerous and so she didn’t think the child in danger. Even considering all the explosions that happened every so often in the supervillain’s close proximity.  
“Wait a minute,” Roxanne said. “Who are you to talk about responsibility? I’m not the one blowing things up all the time.”  
“That is not my fault,” Megamind declared, finger pointed at her. “Captain “Look at me, I’ve got laser vision” always destroys my inventions. Electrical components combined with chemicals tend to explode when you shoot lasers at them.”  
“Point taken,” Roxanne mumbled. “But..” she protested. “None of that would happen if you weren’t a villain…”  
“Supervillain,” Megamind interrupted.  
Roxanne rolled her eyes: “villain,” she said, emphasizing the word, ”I mean, what are you thinking raising a child at the Evil Lair?”  
“Oh, so you do believe me now, do you?” He raised his eyebrows.  
“Besides the point,” she almost shouted.  
“It’s not. Not calling Wayne, believe I didn’t kidnap the child when you more than anyone know me capable of kidnapping. Why, Ms. Ritchi, you almost have me believing that you trust in my ability to be a parent.”  
“Maybe I would if it wasn’t for the fact that you have EXPLOSIVES at your HOME with a CHILD.”  
“She gets nowhere near the dangerous stuff!” They were shouting at his other. “Despite my failures at everything else I am a good parent.”  
“Yeah, right,” Roxanne snickered.  
“Let’s do the math shall we?” His face came close to hers. “For the last 6 and a half years, how many times have my plans been outside of school time?”  
“None,” Roxanne answered, wondering where he was going with this.  
“And when was the last time I stayed in jail for more than two days?”  
Roxanne thought about. It must have been at least 6 years ago. “Six years, if not more,” she answered.  
“And have any of those breakouts been during the night?”  
“No.”  
“No, they haven’t. Because we don’t leave Lucy alone at home at night. We don’t even leave the house when she’s at a sleepover in case she gets ill or homesick and we need to pick her up. But let’s continue spilling all the secrets shall we?”  
Roxanne said nothing. Megamind didn’t notice.  
“Haven’t you noticed, Ms. Ritchi, that the plans do not occur as often as they used to? And that they are less dangerous? And that we no longer do the fighting in the actual Evil Lair but in a warehouse in another part of town? Surely one with your observative skills must have noticed that.”  
If Roxanne hadn’t been taken aback by all this information she might have blushed at the compliment. As it was, she merely shot back at me:  
“And that’s you being a responsible parent is it? Destroying another part of the city?”  
“I’m not the one destroying the city!”  
“Well, who the hell is?”  
“Ask yourself that question. Who is tossing robots around as balls? Who’s using laser vision to make things explode? Ripping up trees to use them as bats?”   
Suddenly Megamind deflated.  
“No, it’s not his fault either,” he mumbled. “We just get caught up in the game.”  
“Game?” Roxanne shrieked. “Game? Is that all it is to you? A freaking game?”   
“Yes it is. Isn’t it a game for you and Metro Mahn as well? We all know that no one is going to get hurt. And the fonds paying for the damage was set up by me and Wayne Scott together. We both pay for repairing the city after our fights.”  
Megamind’s mouth slammed shut. He had clearly revealed something he hadn’t meant to.  
“So no one gets hurt,” Roxanne repeated, choosing to let the bit about paying for the city slip for now. “That doesn’t make you a parent.”  
“No, but sitting for hours with a crying child who just had a nightmare singing and telling stories to make her feel better might. You know what? I’m the only dad at the school who actually stops working when their child comes home? I work on my evil plans, then I pick Lucy up and then I stop working for the day. Then we bake cookies, or read stories, go to the museum or plays or whatever. The only times I’m in my workshop is either when she’s begging to let her help with an invention or she’s working on one of her own. And if she’s working on her own, insisting she can do it on her own, I let her and work on my own. But I never leave her in there without either Minion or me in the room.” Megamind took in a deep breath and continued. “How many dads do you know that know every child in their daughter’s class? Who takes them to ballet and karate and piano lessons almost every week. Who’s been to every dance recycle and play they’ve been in? Who’s watched so many Disney movies so many times that they do not only know every word from every song, every piece of the dialogue but all the dance moves as well? Who dresses up for Halloween?”   
Megamind glanced at her. Roxanne’s face was neutral. To be honest she did not know what to think about his rant. And apparently neither did Megamind. He sighed.  
“I may be a supervillain Ms. Ritchi, and go to prison sometimes. But I’m not a bad parent.”  
Roxanne didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say, what to think. She had a hard time imagining Megamind, the confused villain she had known for villains as a father. She always thought he would be the fun kind of parent. But she never thought that he would actually be able to take care of a child. He always seemed so distracted. Roxanne still couldn’t quite believe all he had told her. Maybe it was a part of some elaborate plan. So she didn’t say anything. And neither did he.  
They said in silence for the next many hours to come.


	6. Chapter 6

“Lucy, time to wake up.” Megamind shook the child gently.  
“What is it, Dad?” She rubbed at her eyes.  
“The present for Molly, we’re at her house now.” The child was now wide awake, jumping up from the seat.  
“Hey, Dad?” she asked as she found the present. “Did you already buy the kitten?”  
“No, I thought we could go the animal shelter and you could pick it out yourself. Why?”  
“Yay, you’re the best dad ever. Now, let’s go so I can give Molly my present.”  
Megamind grabbed Lucy’s hand in one of his and took hold of the sack with the other. Then they floated down the chimney.  
Once inside Megamind whispered: “Remember to be quiet.”   
“I will,” Lucy said and put the present under the Christmas tree. Then she took three cookies from the nearby cookieplatter, set out for Santa of course.  
“Okay, let’s go so you can go to bed.”  
“Dad?” She tugged at his sleeve and Megamind looked down at her. “Don’t you like Ms. Ritchi?”   
Megamind’s cheeks turned a nice shade of lavender and he coughed quietly. “Why do you ask?”  
“You were shouting at each other.”   
“I’m sorry if we upset you. We just had a slight disagreement. Nothing to do with you.”  
“I’m six, not deaf.”   
Megamind picked the child up while chuckling. “I know that.”   
“Shh, Dad. You need to be quiet.”  
“Sorry. But to answer your question: Yes I do like Ms. Ritchi just fine.”  
“Just fine? What do you mean by that?”   
“What do you mean “what do I mean?”. I mean what I said.”  
“Be precise. That’s what you allways tell me. Either you like or you don’t. You can’t like anybody just fine. That means you doesn’t like them. It’s like you can’t love someone just fine either.”  
Megamind chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”  
Lucy looked at him expectantly. Megamind sighed. “Okay, so I do like her period, but don’t tell her that okay. Let it be a secret, okay?”  
“I guess it’s okay. We have a lot of those though. Mr. Lee says it’s not good for your body to keep secrets.”  
Megamind just kissed her forehead as they made their way up the chimney.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys - I had an exam I had to study for and totally forgot to update. But I promise the next chapter will be up in a couple of days:)

No one said anything on the short trip back to the lair. Frankly, no one knew what to say. Their world was no longer the same. For Roxanne she had a hard time deciding whether she was hoping that Megamind was lying or not. If he was lying about Lucy, it would mean that some of her crazy world still made sense. But then again, if he was lying he was more evil than she ever could have imagined. And Roxanne did not believe that Megamind was evil, not really. So she really doubted that he was lying about Lucy. Which meant that the world didn’t make sense. And then there was the whole Santa thing going on. She groaned in frustration. Megamind shot her a glance but said nothing. Finally, they were arriving at the Lair.  
“No blindfold?” Roxanne couldn’t help but tease as they were now standing in the garage part of the lair.  
“Ms. Ritchi, I don’t think that there are a lot of secrets left for you to discover,” Megamind declared, looking foolish.  
She quirked an eyebrow. “You forgot.”   
Megamind didn’t look at her, but instead helped Lucy out of the sleigh.   
“Okay, Luce, time for bed. Minion,” he shouted.  
“Right here, Sir.” Minion walked through the doors and did a double take when he saw Roxanne. He opened his mouth in surprise a couple of times then shot his Master a look.  
“It’s a long story, but I did not kidnap her. Will you take her to see Santa while I tug Lucy in?”  
Minion shot Megamind a puzzled look but did what he was told.  
He led Roxanne through the lair. Her reporter mind was drawing everything in. It was actually a lot cozier than she thought it would be. Then again, she had never been in the living quarters of the Lair.  
“It’s really nice, Minion,” she commented on their way through the living room.  
“Why, thank you Ms. Ritchi. I don’t know why you would be surprised though. I mean, we do live here. Did you imagine it was all concrete, I mean with a child and all?”  
Roxanne blushed. She had imagined for the living parts of the Lair to be as cold and impersonal as the part where she was tied to her chair waiting for Megamind to lose.  
“It’s all thanks to Lucy,” Minion commented. Roxanne briefly considered whether he could read thoughts but shook her head at the very thought just as Minion opened a door into a bedroom.  
The room was not big. It had simple furniture in dark colors and a big bed in the middle. On this bed lay an old man wearing bright read pajamas and hat. His beard was long and white and a pair of spectacles lay atop his nose.  
“Minion, where are you?” The sound of Megamind’s voice came from the watch strapped around the fish’s robotic limb.  
He pushed a button down. “We’re in the guest bedroom.”  
Seconds later Megamind burst through the doors.  
“Minion, I thought Santa was in my bedroom. You know the bed in there is much more comfortable and he is injured after all.”  
“Actually,” the old man said as he rose from the bed. “I’m just fine. It was just a little test run and you did great. Except, there is one thing we need to clear up. Is Ms. Ritchi here on her own free will?”  
Before any of the other people in the room had a chance to speak, Santa continued: “By the way, nice to meet you Ms. Ritchi. I’m Santa Claus.” Santa reached out a hand to Roxanne and she took it.   
“Hold on,” Megamind said, flailing his arms about. “What do you mean test?”   
“What I mean…” Santa started, but Roxanne interrupted.  
“Now, wait a minute Megamind.” She jabbed him in the chest. “I’ve been waiting for the full explanation the whole evening. Your question will have to wait until the three of you have answered mine.”   
With that she turned on her heel, leaving the bedroom. After a heartbeat she stuck her head back in:  
“Are you coming or what? I need some coffee to stay awake.”  
After a short moment of hesitation they followed her, Minion taking it upon himself to lead the way to the kitchen.


	8. Chapter 8

Soon the four of them were seated around the round kitchen table in the most impressive kitchen Roxanne had ever seen. She had figured it was because of Minion and that had been confirmed as the fish had been the one making the coffee and hot cocoa. He had even found some cookies and placed them on a plate in the middle of the table.  
“So,” Roxanne said, taking a sip of her coffee, “spill it.”  
“Okay, it all started 25 or so years ago,” Megamind started.  
Roxanne quirked an eyebrow. Megamind smirked at her.  
“Do you want to know my connection to Santa Claus or not Ms. Ritchi?”  
“Continue, please,” she said, making a hand gesture.  
“When we were about five or so one Christmas Eve we decided to wait for Santa. We wanted to meet the man who gave us all these things. But instead for just staying awake as most kids we built a trap to catch him.”  
Megamind chuckled at Roxanne’s expression. “Yes, it wasn’t very nice but hey, future supervillain. So,” he continued, “we built the trap and actually caught Santa Claus. He just laughed at us and asked if we wanted to help him make toys. Naturally being a child I couldn’t resist the chance of going to Santa’s workshop. After a couple of hours there Minion and I had updated the whole system and made the production 20 % faster while all the toys are still handmade.   
After that we helped a couple of times a year making adjustments and when I was sixteen Santa asked if we could make some of the toys ourselves. There’s more and more children in this world Ms. Ritchi.” He leaned in over the table. “We couldn’t refuse. So now, here we are making toys for Santa. He picks them up at Christmas. Minion and I make quite a few of them but the brainbots help as well. And since they’re cyborgs the toys are still made with love, you know kind of.” Megamind made a grimace.  
“Yes,” Santa cut in. “We agreed that it’s close enough. I mean, those brainbots are smarter than a couple of my elves. And now to my part: I want Megamind to take over the workshop and deliver the presents. I’m old. I’m thinking you’ll be the right person to convince him Ms. Ritchi.”  
Roxanne was stunned at that.  
“Me? I can’t even convince him to stop kidnapping me.”  
Santa just chuckled at that. “I guess I’ll just have to wait for life to work out then. Now, Ms. Ritchi, I’m sure you have some questions about Lucy as well?”  
“Yes, that’s why I’m here.”   
Minion shot her a puzzled look. She sighed and explained what had happened. She ended the tale with a question directed at Santa.  
“So, what is this thing with Lucy?”  
“Dear girl, what Megamind here said about Lucy is true. These two found her and took her in. She is a lovely girl as I’m sure you noticed and I’m sure she couldn’t have found a better home. I’m Santa – I know a thing or two about children. Well,” he said, getting up. “I’ll better get changed to bed. I did actually hurt my back a little falling like that. Megamind, we will be discussing the whole taking over as Santa thing later.” And with that Santa retreated from the kitchen.  
“Ms. Ritchi, do you want me to take you back to your sister´s now?” Megamind offered.  
“I’m actually exhausted,” Roxanne said noticing not for the first time how exhausted she really was. “And I bet you are too. I’m not letting you fly me anywhere tonight.”  
“I’ll make up the other guest room for you, Ms. Ritchi,” Minion said, ignoring both people’s protests. “I would fly you home myself but the suit is running out of battery. What a shame.”   
And with that Roxanne and Megamind where now alone in the kitchen. Megamind cleared his throat.  
“Don’t you think I’m getting soft just because you don’t have one of my incredible inventions aimed at your face right this moment. And don’t get any clever reporter ideas.”  
“No need to worry Spaceman. No one would believe me. Besides, I really do need some sleep. I can’t even think anymore.”   
“I’ll show you the guest room.”   
Roxanne followed Megamind down the halls till they came to a pink door.  
“Lucy chose these colors.” Megamind’s blue cheeks turned a faded lavender color.  
“Why do you even have guest bedrooms?”  
“We had extra space. Besides sometimes Santa stays over and it has happened that we’ve had to shelter a gang member or two while providing them with new identities. I am the Evil Overlord after all.”  
Roxanne’s sleep deprived mind knew she should prod some more but the bed with the pink sheets looked to soft. She hadn’t fully realized that she was the verge on passing out until this moment. Pure luck she was already in her pajamas because she would not have had the energy to change.  
“I’ll ask about that later. Good night, Megamind.”  
“Good night, Ms. Ritchi. Sweet dreams.”  
"You too," she said and smiled to herself as she turned to leave.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Roxanne was awoken by music. She opened her eyes confused to finding a pink bed instead of her sister´s couch. It took her a full 30 seconds before everything from the night before came back full force.  
Curiosly she followed the song and walked into the living room where Megamind was in a hazard symbols pajamas twirling around Lucy who was dressed in a pink, sparkling dress. They were both singing on top of their lungs along the movie which was playing.  
“I believe in Christmas  
I believe in love  
As sure as there is Santa ringing sleigh bells up above  
We do believe in harmony and family and good cheer  
Throughout the year”  
As they continued singing and dancing Roxanne just stood there in the doorway watching them, a fond smile on her lips. She was startled when she heard a not-so-subtle cough behind her. She turned around to face Santa.  
“I thought Megamind would be giving you a lift to your sister’s?” He raised an eyebrow.  
“It was getting too late. Besides, no way I was letting him fly anything after delivering presents all night.”  
“But won’t your sister wonder where you’ve been at?”  
“I’ll just tell er that I had an emergency at my apartment in the middle of the night. A busted pipe or something I needed to tend to. But we’ll need to drop by my apartment on the way so I can change.”  
“That won’t be necessary, Ms. Ritchi,” Minion cut in, tray with breakfast for all of them in hand. “You can just have one of my prototypes?”  
“Prototypes?”  
“Yes, Minion here does quite a bit of designing in his spare time. He makes all Lucy’s clothes as well as mine and Santa’s. And a couple of years ago he started his own brand.”  
“Really?” Roxanne looked the fish up and down.  
“Yes, and I believe I have something from my new collection already finished somewhere. I’ll be just a moment.”  
With that he left the tray on the coffee table on a quest to find Roxanne something suitable to wear. Roxanne went further into the living room and grabbed one of the cups of coffee on the plate. She just needed to wake up before heading back to her sister´s.  
“Nice PJ’s” she said looking at Megamind who was now blushing a lovely shade of lavender.  
“Thank you,” he said, flaring his sleeping cape dramatically in an effort to hide his embarrassment.  
A phone rang. Megamind started looking through the couch cushions. After a couple of moments he triumphantly held out the small device, looked at the screen and hit the answer button.  
“Good morning Gillian and merry Christmas.”  
Roxanne raised an eyebrow, looking questioningly at him.  
“No, not at all. You know how Lucy is. We’ve been up for quite a while….. I’ll get him to come to the phone right away. Mycroft,” he shouted out into the lair. At Roxanne’s raised eyebrow Megamind mouthed the words: “Sherlock Holmes fan” and rolled his eyes.  
“Who is it?” Minion asked as her wandered into the room, clothes in hand.  
“It’s Gillian – something about a cake.” Megamind waved his hand about before handing the phone to Minion.  
“Here you go,” he said as he gave the clothes to Roxanne before taking the phone from his Master’s hand.  
“Hello Gillian… And merry Christmas to you too… No, you don’t say – that’s awful… It does sound like you did everything right… Of course I’ll come over and help you – we don’t want your big family Christmas party ruined now. Even though I’m sure it wouldn’t be; you are quite the cook… Hold on, I’ll ask.” He covered the phone and turned to Lucy. “Hey Luce, do you want to come with be to the twins’ house?”  
“What about my presents?”  
“They’ll still be here when we get back, but Dad will have to fly Ms. Ritchi home.”  
The child nodded in reply before turning back to her movie.  
“We’ll be there shortly.”  
During the phone call Roxanne had been looking at the clothes Minion gave her. It was a pair of black leggings dotted with small rhine stones in a swirling pattern. To go with that there was a simple blue dress with black lace adorning the skirt.  
“Minion, these are beautiful.” She didn’t know what else to say.  
“Why, thank you, Ms. Ritchi.” He reached for his watch and seconds later a man stood in his place. The man was as tall as Minion with red hair and the same brown eyes.  
“Are you ready to go, Lucy?”  
“Can I wear this?” She did a little twirl.  
“Of course. Don’t worry, Sir, we’ll be back in time for the party.”  
“What party?” Roxanne asked curiosly when they were gone.  
“Not important. Now are you ready to go home yet?”  
“Sure, just give me a minute to get changed.”  
When Roxanne emerged from the bathroom a couple of minutes later she was wearing the clothes which fit her like a glove. She was carrying her pajamas under her arm.  
“Can I just leave it here and get it another time? I mean, it really doesn’t make sense to drop it off at my place now and I can’t take it with me.”  
“Sure,” Megamind said, waving his hand around. “Just give me a second.”  
Roxanne stepped closer to him to peer at what he was doing. It looked like he was working on wrist watch.  
“There we go. Now it’s waterproof,” he said proudly.  
“Wow.” Roxanne’s tone of voice was sarcastic. “I have never heard of a waterproof watch before.”  
“Ms. Ritchi, this is no simple watch,” he said as he strapped it onto his wrist.  
“Really?” She raised an eyebrow.  
“Really, but I am not letting you in on anymore secrets today I’m afraid. Come on, let’s get on the hover bike.”  
“Hey, Megamind,” a familiar voice sounded trough the Lair, ”my mom told me to drop off Lucy’s present before the party because she’s getting an extra one this year and my mom doesn’t want the other children to get jealous.”  
Wayne Scott stopped dead in his tracks as he came flying through the Lair and lay eyes on Roxanne Ritchi.  
“Uh… I mean…” He coughed, then stroke a hero pose. “You will never get away with this.”  
“Get away with what Wayne?” Roxanne asked, raising an eyebrow at the superhero.  
“With this villain thing.” He seemed to deflate a bit.  
“I am a supervillain. Besides this is no kidnapping. And I have no idea what he is doing here.” He said the last bit to Roxanne.  
“What is going on here Little Buddy?” Wayne asked as he was landing. Apparently he had decided to forego his Metro Man persona. Roxanne now noticed that he was dressed in a pair of dark pants and an ugly Christmas Sweater. She had actually seen that Sweater before years before when she had celebrated Christmas as the Scott Mansion. His mom had made it.  
“You’re not in uniform. Is this a social call?”  
Megamind sighed. “It looks like today is the day you reveal all my secrets Ms. Ritchi.” He threw his arms up in the air.  
“You mentioned Lucy. Does he know about Lucy?” She yelled at Megamind then turned to Wayne to yell at him. “You knew he had a kid here and didn’t do anything?”  
Wayne held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, take it easy Roxie. Yes, I knew but how did you find out? I’m kind of confused.”  
“Long story short, she refused to leave me alone after I accidentally woke her up while delivering presents.”  
“Delivering presents?” Wayne furrowed his brows. “I thought you only made the toys.”  
“It’s another long story.”  
“Okay, okay. Let me get this straight. Wayne knew not only about Lucy but Santa as well?”  
“Yes, why are you so mad Ms. Ritchi?”  
She spluttered. “I’m not mad. I would just like to know what on earth is going on here.”  
“I knew about the kid from the very first day. I heard crying from the Lair and thought I would check on it, make sure nothing was wrong. Turned out Minion and Megamind had found Lucy. Now originally I wanted to give her to social services but then Santa dropped by in the middle of it. We all had a long talk and decided that Megamind and Minion could keep Lucy.”  
Megamind cut in. “We did not decide anything Way-en. We told you that was how it was going to be. Anyway we, as in Minion and I, soundproofed the Lair and decided to move all the evil plots somewhere else. This is Evil Lair, Ms. Ritchi, but not where we actually fight, which I’m sure you’ve already noticed long ago.”  
She had. But at that time she had been busy with her mother bugging her yet again about Metro Man.  
“That doesn’t explain why Wayne’s mom sends Lucy presents.”  
“She likes her. We go to their Christmas party every year.” Megamind shrugged. “Now, are you ready to get home to your sister’s? I’m sure they’re waiting for you.”  
The reporter in Roxanne was nowhere near ready to leave. But she knew that her sister would be worried by now. Besides she had a feeling that this was all the explanations she was going to get today. She sighed.  
“I guess so. I’ll see you later Wayne and merry Christmas.”  
The superhero waved back at her as the supervillain and reporter made their way to the hover bike.

Riding the hover bike while awake was amazing. Roxanne could feel the wind in her face and the adrenalin pumping through her veins. She had wrapped her arms around Megamind and was not completely surprised to find that she did not mind in the slightest. It was actually quite the opposite if she was being honest with herself. Too soon the ride was over. Megamind landed behind some trees where people out and about wouldn’t be able to see them.  
“Why don’t you have an invisibility screen on this?” she asked.  
“Trust me, I’m working on it. But at this moment it can only turn metal objects invisible which does not include the riders.”  
Roxanne hopped off and gave him the helmet back. They stood for a couple of seconds. Then Roxanne leaned forward to place a kiss on Megamind’s cheek. Electricity went through both of them but Roxanne just coughed and hurriedly said:  
“Merry Christmas Megamind,” before she went into her sister’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter - I hope you have enjoyed it. Even though it's not the most popular work out there, I am thinking about making it into a series - I've really fallen in love with Lucy:)


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